Studies on Assemblage of Spiders (Arachnida : Araneae) in different Riparian Zones of River Gang

Abstract

This study was conducted (i) to understand overall spider diversity in riparian areas of the Ganga river, (ii) to compare spider diversity and richness in the different habitat of riparian zone of upper, middle and lower segments of the Ganga river and (iii) to identify habitat specific / indicator spider taxa for riparian zone of the Ganga river. The study was conducted in the year 2018 and 2019, from Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh to Batanagar, West Bengal, 1955 km of the river Ganga which passes through four Indian states namely Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. This is the first work where functional, taxonomic, and beta diversity of spider community, as well as their potential to be used as bioindicator species in the riverine riparian ecosystem in India, were studied.